NOTE: The prevailing Federal minimum wage was $7.25 per hour in 2012. Data are for wage and salary workers; all self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses and those with unincorporated businesses. The data refer to a person's earnings on the sole or principal job, and pertain only to workers who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and other non-hourly workers are not included. Hourly earnings for hourly-paid workers do not include overtime pay, commissions, or tips received. The presence of workers with hourly earnings below the minimum wage does not necessarily indicate violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as there are exceptions to the minimum wage provisions of the law. In addition, some survey respondents may have rounded hourly earnings to the nearest dollar and, as a result, reported hourly earnings below the minimum wage even though they earned the minimum wage or higher. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.